Bridge of Glass: Dale Chihuly's art welcomes you to Tacoma

N ot much is free anymore, but there is a notable exception in Tacoma.

Show off fall colors from your adventures

Fall's here and with it a gorgeous feast of colors that beg to be captured.

Poulsbo is a charmer

Lutefisk is the supreme culinary challenge this side of chocolate-covered beetles. There's something psychologically off-putting about a Scandinavian delicacy that needs to be skinned, salted, soaked in lye or brine and dried.

San Francisco: explore eclectic city by cable car

About 7.5 million people ride San Francisco's cable cars each year. Many of them board at Powell and Market streets, the famous turnaround site at the end of the line. Here tourists can snap pictures of workers manually swiveling the cars around to begin the route again.

Get juiced about grape stomping

RUTHERFORD, Calif. — Lucy did it. And you can, too

Rainier says good-bye to Jackson visitor center

Loren Lane admits working at the Henry M. Jackson Memorial Visitor Center at Mount Rainier National Park was a great gig.

Play cowboy in California

BRIDGEPORT, Calif. - The Heifers are acting surly, but my horse pushes forward. My young crew of 10 or so cowpunchers encircles about 30 head of cattle on a wide pasture in the shadow of a sawtooth mountain just west of Bridgeport. Our horses slowly lead the cattle toward a gate at the far end of the field.

Oasis for families

There is such a "wow" factor about Vancouver Island.

Cannery Row: A beram

Monterey's famous street is much more than Steinbeck and a high-profile aquarium

A journey into Middle Earth

Most adventures into the Sierra and its foothills head up and up. They're all about climbs and what you can see when you get to the top.

Big Island/big choices

What's on your bucket list? The island of Hawaii — or the Big Island, as locals call it — offers visitors plenty of choices for once-in-a-lifetime experiences, whether you're budget-minded or ready to splurge.

Wildflower bloom delayed on Mount Rainier

In a normal year, masses of wildflowers would explode into bloom right now at Paradise in Mount Rainier National Park.

Get ready to paddle

BOISE, IDAHO — Grab a paddle and hit the Boise River. Tanner Myers, 8, was all smiles when the raft he was riding in splashed through the first diversion waves on the Boise River. He was visiting from North Dakota and got a chance to float the river. The river season started June 12. The Boise River from Barber Park to Ann Morrison Park is a popular place to visit. It also is popular with local kayakers, rafters, canoeists and anglers in small fishing catarafts. The number of people that float the river each year ranges from 100,000 to 300,000. “It’s so close,” said Tracie Ide, who, with her husband, Michael, were taking Tanner and his family down the river. The 6-mile stretch of river takes floaters over small waterfalls, around islands, through natural areas and near parks and buildings.

Size up Alaska’s glaciers

SEWARD, Alaska — Thousands of glaciers are waiting for you in Alaska. Seeing some up close surely will be a highlight of any trip you might be planning to the 49th state this summer.